The current emphasis on home insulation resulting from the world energy shortage has created some safety hazards resulting from ill-advised practices. One of these hazards which has already resulted in some costly fires has arisen where loose insulating material has been introduced into ceilings and allowed to come into direct contact with recessed light fixtures which become very hot during operation. Because some insulating materials are combustible, ceiling fires have resulted from the above practice.
In light of the safety problem involving recessed light fixtures in insulated ceilings, this invention seeks to eliminate the described safety hazard completely through the use of an extremely economical and convenient device in the nature of a guard or dam surrounding recessed light fixtures and holding back and preventing adjacent insulating material from coming into contact with the fixture or its accessory parts.
The guard or dam, which can be quickly constructed and installed on the job site, is formed from a section of very thin gage sheet aluminum which is preferably pre-creased for easy shaping and bending by the installer and also pre-punched and pre-slit to facilitate erecting with a few sheet metal screws and anchoring to the top of the ceiling by bent tabs which can be stapled down. The installed guard or dam is open from top to bottom and has its side wall spaced from the recessed light fixture to form an unobstructed cooling or ventilating space around the fixture. The height of the guard above the ceiling is in excess of the maximum depth of insulating material which would ever be installed under accepted standards. Preferably, one side of the sheet aluminum is coated to resist the corrosive effects of some insulating materials.
Nothing in the known prior art possesses the capability and advantages of the invention including the extremely economical and very simplified construction of the device and its convenience of installation by relatively unskilled labor.
To comply with the duty to disclose known prior art under 37 C.F.R. 1.56, the following prior United States patents are made of record herein:
U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,717,955, 2,998,511, 3,121,259, 3,348,465, 3,440,331, 3,714,744, 3,755,667 and 3,848,897.
Various features and advantages of the invention over the prior art will become apparent during the course of the following detailed description.